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The Content Marketing Recipe

  • Start with a well-defined audience.
  • Mix invaluable and relevant information
  • Season with images and video
  • Simmer on social media and in email 
  • Serve up profitable customer relationships

The recipe for a successful campaign seems simple, but it takes work and creativity as more and more companies try to make their own version.

So how do you ensure that your prospective customers will be ready to consume the content marketing you are serving in 2018? Here a few things to keep in mind to spice up your digital mix.

Begin with Great Content

Content marketing 2018 is going to be about quality, not quantity. Instead of churning out 25 mediocre articles, write fewer, but longer, more interesting posts. How long? Five hundred words or more, with no real top limit. But make sure your post isn’t just recycled words on a page. Take time to research the topic and share a few data points or opinions your readers won’t find anywhere else. Give your readers a reason to come back for more of your content.

Finish your post off with shareable graphics. Interesting images, info-graphics and the occasional GIF which will capture attention on social media and drive visitors to your content.

Video, Video, Video

You don’t need expensive equipment anymore. In many cases, your iPhone will suffice, so start shooting. What kind of video? Here are a few ideas:

  • Interviews with clients and behind the scenes look at how you do what you do are a great way to humanize your brand.
  • Create short (15 second)  video clips using inexpensive stock video with just a little text overlayed and share these on Facebook or LinkedIn.  With a small boost of just a few dollars, you can put your message in front of thousands of prospects
  • Bring your home page to life when you replace the static image with a background video. Just a little bit of motion in the video will hold the visitor’s attention a few seconds longer to read the call to action and click to learn more.

Content on the Go – The Podcast

I love blog posts, but let’s face it, they are hard to read when you are driving or walking. As more of your audience moves away from their desktop computer, you need to think beyond the blog post. Create content to go, something they can take with them wherever they go. Podcasts are big and I expect they will get bigger. As with video, it is easier than ever to record. edit and distribute a podcast.

We typically record More than a Few Words using an iPhone or GoToMeeting recording feature. We chose Podbean to host our podcasts because it is as easy to upload and schedule a program as it is to post a blog post on WordPress. We can link the feed to iTunes, Spotify, and wherever our listeners typically go for their podcast.

Other platforms include Libsyn and Sound Cloud. Both are relatively inexpensive and fairly easy to use, so what’s stopping you from creating that first podcast?

Distribution is Key

It is not enough to create great content, you have to get that information in front of prospective customers. Sharing it once or twice on social media just won’t cut it anymore. Look for websites which will accept guest posts, comment on content created by others, and move from just broadcasting to interacting with folks on social media. And of course, build your email list. Study after study indicates the response to offers in your email will be significantly higher than on social media.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, you need to decide if all this content marketing is worthwhile. Did you generate leads, can you point to customers who viewed your content, and then engage with you in a sales conversation?

In 2018 measuring performance isn’t about counting fans or clicks, it is about interaction, engagement, and sales. This year, focus on the metrics which tell you the actions you are taking are actually driving results.

Ready to start working on your 2018 content marketing  plan? Check out our Digital Planning Kit and give us a call.